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Jean-Michel Cousteau: Ocean Adventures

The Gray Whale Obstacle Course (#202)

The migration of gray whales as they pass city ports along polluted coastlines. [56 minutes]

This episode has not aired in the past few months on Iowa Public Television.

Series Description: This series follows expeditions of Jean-Michel Cousteau and his young crew of divers and ocean scientists as they explore an array of natural phenomena, investigate little-known territories and undersea ecosystems, and come face to face with friendly and not-so-friendly land and ocean inhabitants. The initial two-part episode, "Voyage to Kure," sails to the outermost islands in the Northwest Hawaiian Island Archipelago where diverse wildlife populations are found to be struggling against the effects of pollution, mining, over-fishing and development.

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In this pioneering exploration, the Cousteau team sails to the Northwest Hawaiian Island archipelago, the most remote island group in the world. There, they discover diverse wildlife populations above and below the sea and investigate these species' fight against extinction and the devastating effects of pollution, mining, fishing and development. [56 minutes]

In this pioneering exploration, the Cousteau team sails to the Northwest Hawaiian Island archipelago, the most remote island group in the world. There, they discover diverse wildlife populations above and below the sea and investigate these species' fight against extinction and the devastating effects of pollution, mining, fishing and development. [56 minutes]

There are places on this planet where its a marvel that anything survives. In the cold Arctic waters of the far north, the sea is alive with sound. The canaries of the sea are singing. They're beluga whales, named from the Russian word for "white ones." They're an evolutionary surprise - a warm-blooded mammal in a numbingly cold sea. Resembling curious ghosts, these intelligent mammals use one of the most complex sonars of any animal. In this episode, Jean-Michel Cousteau travels with his son and daughter, Fabien and Celine, and team to the high Arctic to discover why some beluga groups are thriving and others are disappearing. The revelation is the clear connection between human activity and the belugas' future. The surprise is that what is occurring with belugas may foreshadow similar health concerns for people. The inspiration is that with knowledge comes change and Jean-Michel Cousteau and team find reason for hope embodied in this intriguing, little known and elusive white whale. [56 minutes]